Share

Communicating is an active process made up of three continuous and mutually reinforcing actions. Sharing, the final step in a virtuous circle, rarely succeeds fully until you have listened and learned first.

Once your organization has realized its brand, embraced its culture and weighed its strategic choices, you are ready to lean into the most active stage of the communication process.

These three actions — listening, learning and sharing — are best thought of as three parts of a single, regenerative whole. Each action feeds the next, and the circle gains strength over time. But this virtuous circle doesn't happen without someone (individuals) or some thing (organizations) to drive it. Listening, learning and sharing are all incredibly active processes. And to succeed, all three must be present in equal parts and measures.

Sharing, the third phase in this process, is the active dissemination stage where your messages are delivered to, and received by, your key audiences. Think carefully about what you share, and how you share it. Recall what you considered carefully during the strategy section of this model — your messages and point of view. Use plain language. Avoid jargon and too much data. Sometimes facts alone won't carry the day. Sometimes human stories are not enough. It is important to calibrate your content to the conditions in which you're communicating.

Sharing assumes many forms, channels, and routes, nearly all of which require the communicator to ultimately cede control of the message. This is where the real risks (and rewards) come into to play. Once your tweet is posted, your newsletter is sent, your speech delivered, or your interview complete, everyone on the receiving end of that communication will filter your message based on his or her own unique experience. They will listen, and hopefully learn, like all communicators do. But they will bring their own biases and assumptions to that process.

If you've kept up your end of the bargain, if you've listened to and learned from your audience first, the chances are good that the communication you share will reach the desired target and be noticed, though there are no guarantees. Sometimes you miss. And the virtuous listen, learn, share cycle loops back around again.

One final thought to remember. It takes time — often a long time — to listen, learn and share effectively. Active, effective communication unfolds slowly, even when it is done masterfully. It requires significant organizational patience. So stay in it for the long haul. Much like the social change we are ultimately working to achieve, communication demands a tremendous level of effort, a willingness to fail, and the confidence to persevere.

Brand

culture

Strategy

Action

by the numbers

Ratio of Americans who can give an example of a foundation’s impact on an issue they care about.

8 in 10

Ratio of Americans who think it would be a loss for their community if foundations no longer existed.

65%

Percentage of millennials who receive regular email or newsletters from 1 to 5 nonprofits.Source

tips and insights

The companies most likely to recognize the strategic communication imperative are those in which the CEO has an inherent understanding of how communication can be a differentiator for a business and thus can drive strategy.

Think mobile first when designing online experiences where millennials are your target. This means simplifying your message so users understand your mission immediately, making the text readable for a small device, and making buttons easily clickable. The smoother the experience the younger digital users will understand your cause, be inspired by your mission, and act. Source

Voices

Strategic communications raises the visibility of the issues we address, shines the light on organizations and leaders we value, and leverages the grant making investments made by the foundation.Program LeaderPrivate Foundation

If people we wish to impact don't understand the issue, what we are trying to change, or how it effects the society in which we live, we will never achieve lasting change.Communication LeaderPrivate Foundation

We’re dealing with policy makers who have limited knowledge about foundations. Many don’t know what a foundation is or does, and that’s our fault, not theirs.Executive LeaderPrivate Foundation

our positionMore people than ever understand the value of strategic communication.

The research gathered during the Communication Matters project, and shared in
this website, reflects a broad consensus that communications must be embraced as
an integral strategy for every organization seeking to advance social change.

We now believe the main challenge underlying the lack of effective communications
at many organizations is no longer about getting the importance of communications.
The opportunity lies in doing more effective communications.

methodology

From the outset of the Communication Matters project our objective was to cast a wide net and collect as many informed opinions as possible. We achieved this goal in several ways:

Formed an advisory group of communication professionals from private foundations, community foundations and nonprofits

Put out a call through the Network for “best in class” examples

Searched and reviewed the literature

Facilitated two online forums, one with communication professionals and one with program professionals

Broadly disseminated an online survey, with special outreach to CEOs, executive directors and program leaders